27 September 2022

Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government

I would like to start this week’s message by congratulating all the well-deserved winners of the 2021 Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government, which were announced at a special ceremony at NSW Parliament House last week.

These awards – which were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the accomplishments of inspirational women in local government across NSW.

I was amazed at the achievements of all of the winners who had gone above and beyond to improve the lives of the people they represent and serve.

The complete list of winners for all categories, for metropolitan and rural/regional, can be viewed in the Ministers' announcement.

Nominations are open for the 2022 Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government and I would strongly encourage all readers to nominate deserving councillors and council staff.

As many of you would know, LGNSW, the Australian Local Government Women’s Association and the NSW Government have been working hard to increase female representation in local government and part of these efforts are to celebrate the achievements of women in council through awards such as these.

Nominations for the 2022 awards are open until 19 October. More information is available at the Office of Local Government website.

LGNSW Annual Conference update

I am really looking forward to seeing so many of you in-person at the LGNSW Annual Conference, which takes place in less than a month’s time, on 23 October, in the Hunter Valley.

September 25 was the latest date members could submit motions for inclusion in the LGNSW Annual Conference business paper and I can confirm that more than 300 motions were submitted covering key issues of importance to our sector.

Preparations are now under way to have the conference business paper issued in the week commencing 10 October.

Funding for cultural festivals

In a major boost for councils with large multicultural communities, the NSW Government has announced that it is offering grants of up to $500,000 to stage major cultural events.

All councils across the state’s Six Cities regions are eligible to apply for a grant to support existing major cultural events or to establish a new one that will be held in 2023 and 2024.

This funding will help ensure councils have the support to stage celebrations that not only benefit their community but also attract visitors from other regions to their cities and towns and in turn providing a boost to local economies

I would like to thank the NSW Government for its welcome support.

Applications for the grants are open until 7 October.

More flooding support for councils

In further welcome news, the Federal and NSW governments have announced they will provide further assistance to 25 local government areas that were impacted by floods in August.

The assistance includes support for councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.

While this funding directly responds to our advocacy priorities calling for supporting local government in recovery and improved resilience to natural disasters, it is clear that more assistance will be required now and in the future to ensure councils are able to not simply rebuild but to also build back better.

Just in the past week flash flooding once again hit the Northern Rivers and communities surrounding the Namoi River, and with the Bureau of Meteorology confirming that we are now in the midst of another La Nina weather event, heavy rainfall events are more likely to occur across much of the State for the remainder of the year.

Recovery from and resilience to natural disasters form key elements of LGNSW’s 2022 Advocacy Priorities and I can assure you that LGSNW will continue to call for greater action from the NSW and Federal governments in these areas.

Win! NSW Government commitments in response to ‘ice’ inquiry

The NSW Government has announced its long-awaited final response into the Special Commission of Inquiry into the drug "ice", along with new funding of almost $500 million in health and justice reforms.

Resolution 92 of LGNSW’s 2019 Annual Conference (from Lismore City Council) called for a far greater investment in residential rehabilitation services, regional drug courts, justice reinvestment initiatives, youth and adult Koori Courts, youth detox services and expansion of the Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) program.

We have continued to advocate on this matter of critical importance to so many communities, through direct representations to ministers, in our submissions to parliamentary inquiries and our pre-budget submissions to the NSW Government.

We thank the NSW Government for responding to this essential call through announcements, including:

• $163.8 million to increase and enhance access to evidence-based treatment, support and early intervention services, especially in rural and regional areas
• $141.1 million to expand justice initiatives, including the MERIT program ($35.1 million), Circle Sentencing ($4.2 million), Justice Reinvestment ($9.8 million), the Youth Koori Court ($5.8 million), and the Drug Court ($82 million).

Register for the LGNSW Human Resources Summit

A reminder that our Human Resources Summit takes place between 16 and 18 November at Rydges World Square in Sydney.

This event has been specially designed to provide HR professionals with the practical strategies and insights needed to address key workforce challenges that are facing local government today.

There will be a range of expert speakers who will provide evidence-based insights as well as the chance to connect face-to-face with the local government HR community and enjoy dedicated networking time.

More information and register

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